Well it is usually full and there are people waiting for seats, so go figure. I think it is good, but it too expensive for me. I would go there alot more if the bill were more reasonable. A family of four would have difficulty getting out of there for $65-$70 with tax and tip.

The staff is well paid (these aren't teenagers pumping out McDonald's at the minimum wage) and the ingredients are good. Likewise the owners are foregoing the real estate sales potential by keeping their small establishment in a high dollar area. If they moved to the burbs and hired kids the prices and quality would be lower.

For a city that is infamous for tearing down the old and putting up the new every 15 minutes or so the AP represents something worth celebrating, even considering the "outrageous" (sarcasm) 15 cent price hike.

For not much more money you could go somewhere like Plan Check, or even Father's Office.

They are lucky they're an institution. I don't begrudge them their price increases though. They should increase the prices until people stop coming, and given their reputation people might continue going even if the burgers were $20.

The place is good, but the options for a $15-$25 range meal are just way too good in LA for a simple burger and fries to compete in that arena seriously to me.

The price of a pound of ground beef has hit $3.55 a pound, a record high even when adjusted for inflation, according to government readings for February. That's up 56% since 2010. The average for round steak is at $5.28, among the highest prices seen in the last 20 years.

….and believe it or not because of Arby's Smoked Brisket there is now a brisket shortage."Arby's has managed to create major buzz for its limited-time-only Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich, and apparently the menu item is having a major effect on the brisket economy. TMBBQ's Daniel Vaughn estimates the fast-food chain's 3,300 stores use up "a half million pounds of raw brisket per week" to meet demand for the sandwich, causing a major spike in brisket prices: from roughly $2.50 per pound in early March 2014 to $3.15 per pound by mid-April."

I was looking at the estimates up thread ranging from 65 - 100 dollars for a family of four and was having trouble picturing that amount. But four burgers, four fries and four drinks with tax and tip are going to get you right up there to 60 something dollars easily. I guess if you add in four pieces of pie, you're getting to a pretty expensive meal for what it is.

As an aside -- I like AP and could see our family indulging once in a while. The place I can't wrap my mind around is Smashburger, which is in the same price range and not nearly as good or even as nostalgic as AP. I don't think I have any reason to ever eat in a SB again and the only time I did it the first time is because there aren't that many choices in LA Live that are really quick to eat in before a hockey game.

I am always amazed when I get the bill - and this doesn't happen to me at any other place. The prices don't sound that bad when you look at them on the menu but when you get the bill, you just about fall over. If a family of four gets burgers, fries and sodas, and then even splits a couple pieces of pie, you are going to be spending the better part of a Franklin by the time you walk out. The food is good, but there are other places I'd rather spend $75 at. Plus, I hate the way you have to wait in a disorganized mob to get a table and they stares you get from people behind you to gobble down your food and get out in under five minutes.